Rajoy: “Recovery is steady and ever-increasing”

SPAIN has been abuzz with rumors that Prime Minister Rajoy may move the general election date a full year forward, to this upcoming November, but on Friday, Rajoy publicly put speculation to rest with a statement that the election date will remain as is.

The possible change was seen as a double-offensive against the PSOE, which would lose a critical year of campaigning if the date were changed, as well against the CiU, the Catalan nationalist federation which would lose out on media coverage for its convention on November 9th.

Also on Friday, Rajoy told the public that above all, the government aims to bring “trust” and “certainty,” the key two ingredients that stimulate economic growth and are responsible for the 0.6% increase in the GDP this trimester.

In response, the PSOE General Secretary Pedro Sanchez stated that “Rajoy needs to step on the street,” claiming that “the only thing that increases in Spain is inequality.”

Sanchez cited an increase in unemployment by 800,000 under Rajoy’s administration, a homeless population of 739,000, and a 20% decrease in unemployment benefits (from 70% to 50%) as evidence that Rajoy has disempowered the middle class.

I agree with Mark, I’ve never seen so many failed businesses and closures, and no end in sight. Rajoy really is the worst leader in modern times, he has clamped down hard on expatriates, especially, with new draconian laws on residency and healthcare. No other party is any better of course, Spain remains corrupt to the core and the opposition are useless.

Politics has become a circus…any-one who believes this clown deserves the misery these clowns are creating…and the ARE creating it…they never saved the people, only the banks..and they only look to the bank…never to the people

I have had a successful business here for 12 years and like many I suffered from a drop in trade in the first year of the crisis. I have managed to stay quite stable since but have noticed a steady drop every summer. IMO there seems to be more people here this summer than the previous 3 but these
people just don’t have money. I keep very good sales figures reports and see that my bar now sells more small beers, soft drinks etc than before where as 4 years ago it was a lot more cocktails / spirits / pints etc This kind of thing leads to a drop in the average spend hence a drop in turnover and then profit.

Spain is no longer the cheap destination it was before which affects what visiting people can afford to spend especially the Spanish who are more worse off than most.

This July and I am 10% down on last year and about 5% on the year! I speak to other business owners Spanish and foreigner who report similar things

Seriously Mark, if you ARE getting more customers as you claim, but they are buying different products, then maybe your pricing needs revision? I don’t envy your situation as you are up against the likes of 100M and la Surena who are expanding everywhere. Btw the change in market demand is not limited to Spain. There have been an enormous number of pubs close in the uk. Yet some have prospered by becoming gastro pubs, or catering to backpackers etc. Some even become Wetherspoons.

I do wonder at the tempting of providence by Sr Rajoy. Yes, many stats are showing an improving economy eg rise in new businesses, rise in tourist and export numbers, rise in car sales etc. But it is possible that the sanctions on Russia could affect the whole EU economy, so we are not out of the woods yet. Even if holiday lets are full, and flights are full to brimming.

@englishdampsquid
my prices have been revised but you are up against it with higher tax bills, electricity, stamp, social security etc so you just can’t give it away. The main problem I have is I am under cut by a lot of my competition who just do rock bottom prices and they are able to do this as they are cheating the system yet get away with it. If I was paying 30% social security I would drop my prices but at the moment I am working on tight margins that allow me to just keep my head above water.

The only winners in the crisis have been the supermarkets and like the UK the cheap drink they sell makes people to say at home and go out less

In the UK if you only provide drinks you have a high chance of failure. A chain that has been going for hundreds of years told me that but you do not need to look very far to see this is correct. I am not stating Mark does not sell food. Also in my area of Spain I prefer where practical to go to places now with wifi. Anyone know the details / costs of holiday 3g wifi with router installation with movistar?

I would agree that in the UK if you don’t sell food their is a high chance of failure, not so much in cities but away from the them especially in villages and small towns yes.

Spain is however a different ballpark when it comes to bars and it is possible to make a good living from a drinks only bar. I own a drinks only bar which has always done well and the 12 years I have been here is testament to that. I have often debated about putting in a kitchen as I have the space for it but with the hoops the town hall would make me jump through to get a license plus the nightmare for getting permission to do such a project it is something I am not at my present time prepared to do. Normally a kitchen requires a good 3-6 month period to get started/ make money and seeing how expensive it is to employ here it something I couldn’t afford to gamble with during these difficult times.

Derek, your personal vendetta against my posts are futile. When you post a proper adult counter-argument, then you may increase your credibility level (which coincidentally is currently zero). When are you going to make a constructive comment? Now all observe as Derek goes all quiet again lol.

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